this little life of mine

I am just now getting excited (and suddenly a little anxious) about my upcoming trip to Chicago with my BFF, where "upcoming" means I'm flying out THIS Thursday evening. I have been pretty nonchalant about this trip, I guess because I'm such a "seasoned traveller", but this air of "Oh, yeah, I'm going to Chicago over Labour Day weekend, whatever" I've been giving off has at least one of my coworkers concerned. She asked me about the trip this morning - how excited I must be and how organized I must be and how I must be all ready to go and how I'm just counting down the days/hours/minutes till I leave, and I told her I had only just brought my suitcase in from the garage yesterday and hadn't yet taken it out of its protective plastic covering. *shrugs*

She was shocked and now that I think about it, so am I. It's true, usually I am not only already packed by now, but have changed my wardrobe several times and made sure I had all the right accessories and shoes to go with each and every outfit. But, not this time. I have a couple ideas in my head, but really, since this is a casual, non-themed trip, I'm really just planning to pack jeans and t-shirts, maybe a sweater or two and a nice outfit for our one fancy dinner on Saturday night.

I have yet to check the weather forecast for Chicago. Normally I'm obessivly checking the weather of my destination city and/or state once or twice a day, mostly to see if I need to make any changes to my wardrobe or maybe include an umbrella or pair of gloves. This time? Not at all. It hasn't even crossed my mind to see what's happening weatherwise in the midwest. I have no idea if it's going to be sunny and warm, or rainy and cold, and I'm afraid I don't really care. 

I don't know what my problem is. It's not that I'm not excited about this vacation because I am: I love Chicago and hanging out with my BFF is always fun (except for last March, but we're keeping our fingers crossed that there will be no trips to the ER this time!). And I have always enjoyed travelling despite what a pain in the butt it's become, so I just can't figure out why I'm not squeeing over this trip. Maybe I'll be excited on Thursday when I'm strapped into the plane, sipping on my cup of water (out of a bottle, not the tap!) and munching on pretzels, flipping through the latest SkyMall or Hemispheres magazines. Maybe then.

I am SO close to being on vacation I can SMELL it! This evening I'm off to Ohio to visit my friend Jewel. I haven't seen her since last September, so we have a LOT of catching up to do!

I'm also looking forward to:

1. Browsing Sky Mall magazine. (I know it's not PC to lust after stupidly expensive and unnecessary crap, but I love looking at all the gadgets and fun stuff for sale!)
2. Reading Hemispheres magazine - that's when you know you're on vacation!
3. Flying. I really do love air travel despite the security, crowded flights and extra charges.
4. Seeing Dash and Fester again.
5. Meeting Esme - the new kitty.
6. Maybe visiting with BloodBeth and JM?
7. Perhaps a little shopping?
8. I'm definitely excited for a change of scenery.
9. Playing a Rummy tournament (or two).
10. Going out to a movie. Or renting DVDs and staying in. Whichever.
11. Drinking coffee and shooting the breeze.
12. Eating out at different restaurants. (Max and Erma's? P.F. Chang's? Melting Pot? Yes, please, but only if my BFF is feeling well enough to enjoy it, too!)
13. Just being on vacation!!!